For starters, her spins and flexibility have raised the world bar. People can have their favourites, and rightly so, but, to pretend that YL is not the best spinner and the most flexible skater on the planet is delusional.

Secondly, her speed. Have you ever seen how much ground this girl covers during her routines. She simply does not stop, unlike other skaters who slow down a hell of a lot to put the power in their take-off foot prior to jumping, Lipnitskaya throws her jumps in from out of nowhere. From a spectating pov, YL's jumps flow from the program, other skaters are constantly start-stop-restart etc which has always looked clumsy and forced since FS began.

Thirdly, she attempts and lands, the most difficult cascade on the tour. (Tatiana) Tarasova has also said to reporters in Sochi that the cascde that YL can do is not the only trick up her sleeve, that she has another 3-3 cascade no one has seen yet.

Fourthly, she has ALL the momentum. She's been absolutely flying since coming to international attention, whereas YK has been all but invisible recently. Sure, you can cut it with your own federation, even European's or World's, BUT, history has already shown with Torvill and Dean (one of the best pairs skaters ever) with Plushenko (arguably the greatest male figure skater ever) that you CAN NOT disappear then expect ANOTHER OGM to fall into your lap after coming out of retirement/professional status to try for a 2nd one.

Fifthly, YL (and the other great young skaters, esp in Russian atm) are the future of the sport. Judges WILL see YK, Kostner, Asada, as the sport's past.

Sixthly, Russia has never had a female singles champion. YL is arguably the best bet they've ever had, plus the games are in Russia, of course the OGM won't have been bought and paid for (whatever people may think), but homefield advantage WILL influence the judges to give slightly higher scores to YL.

Seventhly, she's got the confidence. She's already an OGM here, Kostner, Asada, Gold, Wagner, they've all had the pleasure of being beaten here by YL. No matter what they may say in public, in their minds, they've already admitted defeat.

Eighthly, to get the best picture, you look and read NOT what the fans are saying, but what commentating FS OGM's from the past are saying both on screen and during interviews, Lipinski, Cousins et al, they're awed by what YL is doing and the talent she has.

Conclusion: As long as YL stays on her feet (and she has rarely ever fallen), yes, YL is unbeatable at these games. And as long as she stays motivated, I honestly can't see anyone beating her for the next 10 years.

As Robin Cosuins said of her, "someone with that talent comes along in any country once in a lifetime".
He certainly thinks YL has the potential to become the greatest ladies FS who has ever lived, and RC's assessment is good enough for me.

As Robin Cosuins said of her, "someone with that talent comes along in any country once in a lifetime".
He certainly thinks YL has the potential to become the greatest ladies FS who has ever lived, and RC's assessment is good enough for me.

Cousins dismisses the notion.

"The beauty of YouTube is that you can see everybody skate.
There is no hiding anywhere now,he said.It's not going to change that much at the Olympics than it would have been at the national championships or any other event. Yuna will do what she always does when she steps on the ice.I'm hoping she will perform the way she did at her national championships as it was glorious.”

In the ladies, I just can’t wait to see Kim Yuna! At her best, there’s nobody that can come close to her.
I haven’t seen her skate in a couple years, and I’m just so thrilled—I can’t wait to see her skate.

The question always is, what will happen when she starts to get curves?
That’s sort of when a lot of youngsters fall off the training wagon. They get to the point where their body
starts changing so much that it throws off timing, just that tiny infinitesimal change of balance and rotation
and physics. But that’s not going to happen for Yulia in the next week! Seeing that performance,she’s absolutely
a contender to be on the podium, so it’s going to be really fun to watch http://parade.condenast.com/261492/d...figure-skater/

#4 ~ #8 on your list are pretty much an irrelevant (unrelated to the skater's merits) and wishful projection of yours. #1 is probably true although I do not know how much point a skater is supposed to get for being a contortionist. #2 is demonstrably false not only because there are faster skaters, but Yulia's problem is that she doesn't finish her moves clearly and cleanly. It's like she continues on to the next move before her prior move is complete, and this is what often leaves the impression of immaturity in Yulia's skating. She can and will improve on this over time, to be sure.

I'll give #3 to you as well. It's perhaps the single biggest weapon Yulia has in Olympic games that she lands her jumps. But here she is relying on others' mistakes. Not that it's not gonna happen (to the contrary, it's more than likely happen), but it's not entirely to Yulia's credit as you suggest. Hoping others to make mistakes for your win is kind of low, don't you think?

Yuna didn't disappear. She is the 2013 World Champion and didn't compete in the Grand Prix this year because of injury. If you want to give the Olympic Gold to a skater who did ALL the competitions then you have to give it to Mao, who even performed at her lowest low point and was ALWAYS (only missed GPF 2011/12 and we know why) competing in the last quad since Vancouver.

Some of the Julia fans are delusional. Then there's a lot of people who know nothing about figure skating.

Julia is a talented 15 year old. She's good, she can get better. Just because she's a sensation doesn't mean she's the best figure skater in the world or close to it. It should be enough that -- for someone who has never competed on (individual) Olympic or World Ice -- she can skate well and compete for a medal. Let her score according to her actual talents at this time, and get off to a good start in her young career. Then watch her get better. But no, the delusional people want to dismiss her tiny jumps, weak skating skills, traveling spins, non-existent artistry, inability to hold edges, etc. and just straight call her the best unbeatable skater in the world. Insane.

Yuna Kim. Mao Asada. Carolina Kostner. Akiko Suzuki. These are great skaters that are not only talented (some more or less so than Julia), but have worked hard for many years to improve their skills and artistry. Their abilities are far beyond those of Julia's at this moment in time, when they skate well of course. Now, if they skate poorly and Julia does well enough to beat them fairly, then by all means good for her. But if they skate well, it would be a crime to dismiss their superior skating and performance abilities.

Just my opinion but:
Yulia's skating isn't as unbeatable as her scores suggest. Also, the music (Schindler's List) carried her, not the other way around. Her spins are incredible but sometimes are travelling badly. Her movements seem unfinished to me and some transitions are abrupt and not smooth. Her jumps are in no way on par with Yuna's but are getting high GOEs like her. It's ridiculous. Without the inflation, I believe Carolina should have beaten her in SP.

But to be fair with Yulia though, she is a very talented girl. She can do spins like no one in the competition (I think) does. I just wished she would do them beautifully like Sasha Cohen. She's bending/flexing too much that the spins look stiff to me. I commend her nerves tho. She's very consistent and very focused. It's amazing for someone so young.

absolutely agree with you.
If Yulia haven't picked the Schindler's List, or dress as the girl in the red coat, it won't be as emotional.

Some of the Julia fans are delusional. Then there's a lot of people who know nothing about figure skating.

I just don't see Julia beating Yuna. Even with Home Advantage. I don't know where this "unbeatable" comes from. She deservedly won the team event, even though the SP was borderline with Carolina performing the way she did. But Julia can also be beaten, look at her performance at CoR, Russian Nationals or when Mao beat her at GPF. I just don't see it happening - barring a breakdown from Yuna and the other veterans. I'm far from a Yuna fangirl, but I still think she will be Olympic Champion once more. Julia could get silver, but not higher. My two cents.

Forget about Kim, who cares about her at this point other than her ubers?

If you are a skating fan, why wouldn't you care about Kim, who is going for a historic feat of two consecutive OGMs??? How often is that? If that is not something to care about, what is?? (unless... you are.... )

Forget about Kim, who cares about her at this point other than her ubers? But, your obsession and overhyping of Yulia is sickening too. So, I'll wish that Gracie and Elena would kick Julia's butt next season just to see you writhe in agony. Oh, I do believe both girls are more than capable to do so. (zillion times better than your contortionist)

This has to be a troll attempt. There is nothing factual or positive here or for that matter any figure skating discussed in anyway whatsoever. Yup. Troll.

If they all skate well in the SP Yulia will be kept close to Mao and Yuna in terms of scores. And if the latter two do not skate without errors in the LP and Yulia does, she will be given the Gold. In any case, were everyone, all 30, to go clean in the SP and the 24 in the LP (no that will not happen) Yulia would be given bronze. She's already beaten a clean Caro and Gracie (by 12 points?!?). I don't think Yulia is all that yet but she could be great in the future. However she is Russian and this is Sochi so she's a lock for at least a bronze. I think Adelina is a better skater but not the darling now but she will be the backup if Yulia falters.

Okay, I will troll-bite. Hey, not like I have millions of things to do.

Thanks for joining us, speople, exactly 24 hours before the ladies competition starts to let us know how Julia standing on her feet would be more than good enough to beat everyone, including skaters whose personal bests for years in SP and LP have been good enough to beat Julia with spares. I also appreciate that you're using older skaters quote extremely selectively to make your non arguments. (Seriously, of all the people you want to quote, you chose Robin Cousins? Read yuki90's post, please?)

If Julia wins, then it would be because she skated her very best and everyone else failed miserably. If Julia skates like she did in team skate and actually somehow manages to beat clean Yuna/Mao/Caro, then her win isn't going to be taken seriously. As it is, her winning over Caro in SP seems a bit questionable.

Oh, and if you think that much of Julia's speed, I hope you get to see Caro or Yuna at the rink once. Then we'll talk.

Dont you recognize it though. The people potraying Julia as unbeatable, saying a clean Kim cant even beat her, blah blah, are not Julia fans at all. They are the conspiracy theory, xenophobic, anti Russian agenda pushers, who are saying things like that to turn more people against Julia and the Russian skaters in general. It is quite disgusting.